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Grubauer makes it positive weekend |
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Rick Sadowski
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It will be at least a couple of years before we know how successful the 2018 NHL draft haul turns out for the Avalanche, but my first impression of the weekend in general is positive.
That’s mainly because general manager Joe Sakic was able to shore up the goaltending on Friday by acquiring Philipp Grubauer from Washington, along with defenseman Brooks Orpik (who has since been placed on buyout waivers), for the first of the Avalanche’s two second-round picks (No. 47).
The Avalanche already have signed Grubauer, 26, who would have been a restricted free agent July 1, to a three-year, $10 million contract through the 2020-21 season; he’ll make $3.35 million, $3.9 million and $2.75 million for an annual salary cap hit of $3.3 million, according to capfriendly.com.
Sakic outmaneuvered several teams that were interested in Grubauer by taking Orpik and his $4.5 million salary cap hit off the Capitals’ hands. Orpik, 37, won’t play a second for the Avalanche, who will still have about $18 million of cap space remaining.
"He just won a Stanley Cup, he's a winner, and that's always important,” Sakic said of Grubauer. “He knows what it takes. He was just in a dressing room that went through a grind. You don't win a Stanley Cup if you're not part of a close team that believes and knows how to win in the playoffs. And he had a huge part in getting them into the playoffs.
“He's had two really good years in a backup role, and we all feel he's ready to take the next step and become a No. 1. We're excited to have two No. 1 goalies.”
It’ll be interesting to see how the goalie situation plays out with Grubauer and oft-injured Semyon Varlamov, who turned 30 in April and is entering the final year of his contract with a $5.9 million salary cap hit.
The Avalanche signed Czech goalie Pavel Francouz, 28, in May to a one-year, $690,000 contract. Francouz spent the past three seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League, has moved ahead of minor leaguer Spencer Martin on the depth chart, and will be the Colorado Eagles No. 1 goalie when they begin American Hockey League play in the fall.
Martin, 23, will be a restricted free agent July 1. Joe Cannata, 28, who led the Eagles to the ECHL championship this year, will be an unrestricted free agent. The Avalanche will need two AHL goalies and one for the new ECHL affiliate that is still to be determined.
The Avalanche picked five forwards, one defensemen and two goalies at the draft; the eight selections were the most for the team since 2010 when they also had eight.
After tabbing Czech right wing Martin Kaut, 18, with their first-round pick (No. 16) on Friday, they picked up two more goalies Saturday – Finland’s 6-foot-4 Justus Annunen in the third round (No. 64) and Russia’s 6-6 Shamil Shmakov in the seventh (No. 202).
The 6-2, 176-pound Kaut played last season with HC Dynamo Pardubice in the Czech Republic's top professional league and had 16 points (nine goals, seven assists) in 38 games. He could play for the AHL Eagles in 2018-19.
“We’re really excited about this player,” Sakic said. “He’s a powerful skater, he’s got a great shot. He’s a goal scorer and he knows where to go to the right areas. He plays hard all over the ice and like every young player he’ll keep getting stronger and quicker. We’re excited about his potential to be a top six winger who can score goals.”
Annunen, the third goalie taken in the draft, helped Finland win the gold medal at the Under-18 World Championship tournament. Shamakov is considered a project with a potentially high reward.
The Avalanche dealt both of their second-round picks. After trading the No. 47 selection on Friday for Grubauer and Orpik, they sent the No. 58 pick to Pittsburgh for Nos. 64 (Annunen) and 146, a fifth-round selection for Russian defenseman Danila Zhuravlyov, who was an alternate captain while representing his country at the Under-18 World Championships.
They used their second third-round pick (No. 78) on Finnish left wing Sampo Ranta, who will enter his freshman year at the University of Wisconsin, playing for former Avalanche coach Tony Granato. The 6-2, 188-pound Ranta had 37 points (23 goals, 14 assists) in 53 games with the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL.
They took Tyler Weiss, who can play left wing and center, in the fourth round (No. 109). Weiss (5-11, 150 pounds), who is from Raleigh, N.C., will play at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He had 31 points (12 goals, 19 assists) in 58 games the past two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program and helped the U.S. win silver at the Under-18 World Championhip.
The Avalanche selected 6-2, 194-pound center Brandon Saigeon from Hamilton of the Ontario Hockey League. Saigeon, 20, was an alternate captain for the Bulldogs and had 70 points (35 goals, 35 assists) in 65 games. He helped Hamilton win the OHL championship with 25 points (18 goals, seven assists) in 21 postseason games.
After taking Zhuravlyov with the fifth-round pick acquired from the Penguins, the Avalanche tabbed another Russian, right wing Nikolai Kovalenko, the son of former Quebec/Colorado forward Andrei Kovalenko, who was sent to Montreal in 1995 as part of the trade for Patrick Roy and Mike Keane.
Nikolai was born in Raleigh when Andrei was playing for the Carolina Hurricanes. He had 31 points (10 goals, 21 assists) in 33 games for Loko Yaroslavl in the MHL, Russia’s junior league. He had 12 points (one goal, 11 assists) in 13 postseason games to help his team win the MHL championship.
The Avalanche will have eight picks in 2019 with two in the first round (one from Ottawa to complete the Matt Duchene trade), two in the third and one each in the second, fifth, sixth and seventh.
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